Typical fluid fittings or couplings having at least one shutoff valve require some vertical displacement of components in order to seal/close and to reconnect. Such valves possess inherent drawbacks when used with phase changing materials. A phase changing material transitions from liquid to solid as it cools and from solid to liquid as it heats. In solid form, the phase changing material does not allow for displacement of valve components. This issue is particularly troublesome when the shutoff valve components, i.e., the displaceable components, are connected to or near the end where the phase changing material enters the fitting. Under these circumstances, the fitting is incapable of making a complete connection. Various methods of accommodating this issue have been developed. For example, an operator may wait until the machine cools, the phase changing material solidifies and the fitting is then disconnected, thus preserving the location of the shutoff valve. The foregoing method requires a significant amount of down time for machines to facilitate the cooling.
Known fittings intended to solve the foregoing problem are large, e.g., typically spanning almost five inches in diameter. Another solution includes heating the valve or shutoff fitting. Although the foregoing method maintains the phase changing material in a liquid state, other issues may be created, e.g., leaking of the phase changing material.
This disclosure sets forth a quick disconnect that solves the foregoing drawbacks as well as other drawbacks of known disconnect valves by providing a smaller fitting capable of making secured and sealed connections even if the fitting is disconnected while a phase changing material is in a fluid state and subsequently left to solidify.